The Game
The Angelo State football team will look to rebound with a road trip to Marquette, Michigan, to face Northern Michigan on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 3 p.m. CDT at the Superior Dome.  

Northern Michigan
The Wildcats defeated Lake Erie 38-35 in overtime to open the season. Chris Ostrowsky leads Northern Michigan in his fifth season at the helm. Northern Michigan went 5-6 last season which is the best record for NMU since 2010. 

The Series
This will be the second meeting all-time between the two schools. The first meeting was in the 1987 Division II Quaterfinals. The Wildcasts prevailed on a Tom Seeke's 34-yard field goal in overtime. The Rams led 20-13 heading into the fourth quarter but Northern Michigan used a 94-yard drive to tie the game. NMU had a chance to win the game in regulation but ASU's Sam Williams blocked a 25-yard field goal attempt in the final seconds to force overtime. 

Return to Michigan
The Rams will return to Michigan for the first time since 2014. ASU traveled to Houghton, Michigan, for the first round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs to face Michigan Tech. ASU came away with a 42-41 victory over Michigan Tech. A total of 12 Rams on the current roster were on that team.  

Controlling Field Position
Casey Eyman was a huge factor for the Rams averaging 40.8 yards per punt over nine punts including a long of 52-yards. The junior pinned McKendree inside the 20 six times with zero touchbacks. Four punts landed inside the 10-yard line and three of his punts were downed inside the 5-yard line with one resulting in a safety on the next possession. The Long Beach native also kicked a 25-yard field goal for ASU. He leads the LSC in average and punts inside the 20.

Leading Tackler
Willie Brown, ASU's leading tackler in 2015, found a familiar spot after one game. The senior recorded a team high 12 tackles and currently leads the LSC in tackles per game.

Block Party
The Rams special teams blocked a first quarter extra point and a field goal in the second quarter against McKendree. ASU did the same thing last season against Texas A&M-Commerce. Jesus Vargas blocked an extra point while Jeremy Johnson got his hand on a field goal. 

Safety and Defensive Touchdown
The Rams defense was opportunistic scoring nine points against McKendree. The last interception return for a touchdown was in 2015 veresus Midwestern State while the last safety was in 2014 against Texas A&M-Commerce. The last time ASU accomplished both in the same game was Oct. 2, 1999 against West Texas A&M. In that game, Josh Mann recorded the safety while Winston Kibbles returned an interception 25-yards for a touchdown. 

Forcing Turnovers
The Rams defense was opportunistic focring an interception and two fumble. Grant Peterson forced one fumble with Bright Ihegworopicking up the loose ball. Markus Jones recovered his first career fumble in the  first quarter. The first interception of the year went to Justin Jackson in the second quarter. 

Interception Return
Justin Jackson scored his first career touchdown against McKendree. The sophomore intercepted a pass and returned it four yards. It is the first interception return for a touchdown since Jonathan Shannon's 18-yard TD against Midwestern State in 2015. 

Nice Debut
Josh Stevens made his debut for the Rams in impressesive fashion. The junior transfer rushed for a team high 78 yards on 21 carries. His long of 17 yards setup Angelo State's first touchdown of the season. He averaged 3.7 yards per carry and was the only back with double-digit carries. 

Playing Indoors
ASU will play indoors for the third time in four seasons. The previous three games were at AT&T Stadium for the LSC Football Festival. Northern Michigan plays at the Superior Dome that seats 8,000. 

Freshman Debut
Lawson Ayo made his debut for the Rams at wide receiver. The freshman caught two passes for 18 yards including a long of 11 yards. Ayo was an all-state football and basektball player in high school at Sunnyvale. 

Team Captains
Fred Lawrence, Richard Franklin, Willie Brown, Donovan Thompson and Trey Green were selected as captains for the 2016 season by their teammates.

Road Warriors
The Rams have travelled 898 miles of its first 5,166 miles before playing their first home game of the season. ASU will travel a total of 8,062 miles to all seven road games this season. The longest trip of the season is 3,064 miles to Marquette, Michigan to play Northern Michigan and the shortest is 312 mile round trip to Wichita Falls.  ASU will look to improve its road record under head coach Will Wagner. The Rams are 16-12 under Wagner on the road and 8-4 in the last two seasons. 

Close to Receiving Records
Donovan Thompson set the ASU single-season record for receiving yards with 1,133 yards last season. His 70 catches were the second most in a single year behind V'Keon Lacey's 74 receptions. Thompson finished last season No. 7 in receiving yards per game (103.0) and No. 11 in total receiving yards. He is 1,444 yards away from owning the career receiving yards and is No. 17 in ASU hsitory. 

#RamFam Connection
Two current Rams have connections to Rams of the past. Brennan Bibbs heard about ASU from former All-American uncle Henry Alsbrooks. Alsbrooks played defense for ASU and was a 1988 All-Americna. He recorded 271 tackles and is No. 10 all-time in career tackles. Myron Turner, Jr. plays opposite side of his dad Myron. The elder was an all-conference performer in 1989 and 1990. He is No. 8 on the career receiving yard list with 1,704 yards and led ASU in yards in 1989 with 706 yards. 

Listen to the Rams 
The Rams will once again be carried on KWFR 101.9 The Fire with four-time Lone Star Conference Broadcaster of the Year Jeremy Bryant on the call. He will add Dr. John Klingemann in the booth for color analysis. Dr. Klingemann is the chair of the history department and an associate professor at Angelo State 

Live in HD
Every Ram home game will be broadcasted on RamTV Suddenlink Channel 6 and 106HD.  Fans will be able to see the games in full high definition with Angelo State students directing the broadcast and giving play-by-play and color analysis.

New Offensive Coordinator
Will Wagner promoted Drew Dallas to offensive coordinator. Dallas has been an integral part of the offensive staff at Angelo State since 2011 as a graduate assistant and promoted to assistant coach in 2012. He has worked with the wide receivers since 2011 and picked up recruiting coordinator duties in 2012.The Ram offense is coming off a record-setting season by leading the nation in total offense with 560.4 yards per game. 

Head Coach
Will Wagner (Hardin-Simmons, '96) will begin his sixth season as head coach of the Rams. He is 31-26 in his three seasons at the helm of the Rams. The Odessa native helped Northwest Missouri State win three national championships as an assistant head coach and defensive backs coach.

Winning Season
ASU secured the program's 32nd winning season since 1964 with a 7-4 record last year.It was the first time the Rams have had winning seasons in back-to-back years since 2000-2001 under former head coach Jerry Vandergriff.

414 and Counting
Angelo State has won a total of 414 football games since 1939. The following lists the coaches and record breakdown in Ram football history. 
 

Pete Sikes	1939-1949	41-23-5
Max Bumgarnder	1950-1968	74-74-2
Grant Teaff	1969-1971	19-11
James Cameron	1972-1973	13-7
Jim Hess	1947-1981	65-23-3
Jerry Vandergriff	1982-2004	143-101-2
Dale Carr	2005-2010	28-36
Will Wagner	2012-Present	31-26

The Program
Angelo State won the NAIA National Championship in 1978 and has won three Lone Star Conference Championships (1978, 1984, 1987). The Rams have seen five NCAA D-II playoff appearances and produced 57 All-Americans. Angelo State has sent 11 student-athletes on to successful NFL careers, including Pierce Holt, who earned two Super Bowl rings with the San Francisco 49ers in 1988 and 1989. He was a two-time Pro Bowl selection and was inducted into the NCAA Division II Football Hall of Fame in 2000. Legendary Baylor head coach Grant Teaff coached at ASU, and has been inducted into the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame with Holt and former Ram tackle Rodney Cason.

Follow From Home
If you cannot attend the Angelo State football game, ASU has you covered. Live updates will be provided on Angelo State's Facebook page along with its Twitter account, @AngeloSports, Instagram, angeloathletics or on YouTube AngeloSports.